Monday, November 27, 2023

R.I.P.: Tom Larson, Former Channel 38, NESN, WHDH Boston Sports Host

Tom Larson (1940-2023)

Lanny Lee Larason — known professionally as Tom Larson during a long broadcasting career that included nearly four decades in Boston — died Wednesday in Fredericksburg, Va., of complications from cancer, according to his son, Jeff. He was 84 years old The Boston Globe reports.

Larson, a Missouri native, came to Boston in 1969 as the public affairs director at Channel 38. There he hosted a wide-ranging eponymous talk show while soon becoming a fixture among the region’s sports fans as host of Bruins and Red Sox pre- and postgame programming.

Larson covered a variety of Boston sports while at Channel 38. His son wrote that he was particularly fond of Channel 38′s “Mini One-on-One,” which pitted youth hockey players against each other.

From 1981-88, Larson served as sports director at WHDH radio, delivering reports on “The Jess Cain Show.” In 1983, Boston Magazine named him “Best Sportscaster” in the city.

For a certain generation of Boston sports fans, Larson is best remembered as one of the first familiar faces on the regional cable sports network NESN. He joined NESN in 1986, two years after it launched, again hosting Bruins and Red Sox studio shows. He also carved a niche as a reporter, writer, and producer for the magazine show “Front Row.”

Larson — who adopted his professional name early in his career, which began at Westminster College in 1960 ― had stops in Bloomington and Peoria, Ill., and Lansing, Mich., before coming to Boston.

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